Julian Assange is a horny guy who sleeps around. So the fuck what?

[cali]

I mean really, what does that have to do with the information he's releasing through wikileaks.

[stray cat]

1. Transparency is important! There should be no secrets kept from anyone ie Facebook w/o barriers

[Zywiec]

2. Scott Ritter likes underaged girls

but as long as he keeps speaking about the Iraq War, So the fuck what?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Ritter


Arrests

Ritter was arrested in April 2001<31> and again in June 2001<32><33> in connection with police stings in which officers posed as under-aged girls to arrange meetings of a sexual nature. The first incident did not lead to any charges.<31> He was charged with a misdemeanor crime of "attempted endangerment of the welfare of a child" after the second, but charges were dropped and the record was sealed on condition that he avoid further trouble for a period of time.<31><34> News of the arrests became public after sealed court records were anonymously provided to the press. Ritter claimed that the timing of the leak was a politically motivated effort to distract attention from his statements about Iraq.<32><33><35>

Ritter was arrested again in November 2009<36> over communications with a police decoy he met on an Internet chat site. Police claim that he showed himself masturbating via a web camera after the officer said she was a 15-year-old girl; Ritter claims he was not made aware of the ostensible age of his correspondent before the act. The next month, Ritter waived his right to a preliminary hearing and was released on a $25,000 unsecured bail. Charges included "unlawful contact with a minor, criminal use of a communications facility, corruption of minors, indecent exposure, possessing instruments of crime, criminal attempt and criminal solicitation".<37> Ritter is scheduled to face trial on these charges in September 2010.<38>

[cali]

3. Uh, there's a difference between pedophelia

and sex with someone who's of age.

[H2O Man]

20. Aunt Bea made

great pies.

http://www.auntbeaspies.com

Pies:
Apple
Blueberry
Fish-n-Finger
Pumpkin

[Occam Bandage]

4. Julian Assange is neither a hero nor a martyr.

He's a self-absorbed prick who happens to have started up an incredibly important website, but who isn't directly responsible for the leaks, and is no longer of any personal consequence.

[glinda]

5. Some of the most brilliant people in history have been self absorbed. So what.

[Occam Bandage]

8. Julian Assange does not matter, either in a positive or a negative way.

He is utterly beside the point.

[Luminous Animal]

26. Really? He, as the public face of Wikileaks is taking the risks to keep the heat off

of other people.

I've been involved in a lot of activism and all levels are appreciated but those who volunteer for the most public roles are also those who are most at risk of losing their liberty.

[Occam Bandage]

29. I don't really think he's selflessly attempting to draw fire for the benefit of others.

Simple egotism is sufficient to explain his actions.

[Luminous Animal]

38. Again, my sympathies for the loss of your close personal friendship with Assange.

Some people just grow apart.

[Forkboy]

34. I get your overall point, but he matter regardless.

He's most anything but regardless at this point. Whether you agree with him or not, he matters.

[whathehell]

28. Brilliant, shmilliant....Everything isn't about "smart"

Character should count for at least as much.

[Luminous Animal]

39. You and Occam should get together and commisserate over the loss of your close personal friend...

Assange.

[whathehell]

40. Clearly

you don't know squat about me.

Cheers!

[wtmusic]

14. "Who happens to have started up an incredibly important website..."

:rofl:

And Einstein was a self-absorbed prick who happened to have stumbled across the General Theory of Relativity.

[Occam Bandage]

19. That's a pretty good analogy (though Einstein seems like a pretty chill guy.)

I think discussing Assange instead of the leaks is like discussing Einstein instead of relativity. The dude isn't the point.

[Luminous Animal]

27. Both can be the point. We are not imbeciles. We can advocate for both at the same time.

[Occam Bandage]

30. Sure, we can discuss both, but only one of the two discussions is productive. nt

[wtmusic]

35. You seem to be an expert on self-absorption

or you wouldn't dismiss someone as influential as Assange and his potential for the future.

Certainly his accomplishments pale next to yours. Just what are they? :shrug:

[The Doctor.]

23. And then people like yourself complain how 'no one' stands up to the establishment.

You know what an egomaniac Ghandi was. Has his name in the history books because he called so much attention to himself. So what if he risked assassination and death... that's all part of the ego-trip.

[Occam Bandage]

24. I don't make any such complaints. nt

[The Doctor.]

31. My Apologies.

I did not realize that the establishment was sacrosanct at all.

By all means, let us visit just derogation upon those who do not also appropriately keep their egos in check.

[Luminous Animal]

25. I'm sorry you lost your close friendship with Julian.

[Arctic Dave]

6. He must be made the face of wikileaks so he can be

ridiculed and marginalized.

To kill the messenger, you must first have one.

[cali]

7. you hit the nail on the head. well put.

[movonne]

9. Just remember the Clinton debaucle...and he was a pretty good

president..well a lease better than a repub...

[jwirr]

17. And how they vilified JFK and other historical figures trying to down

play the importance of their contribution to the nation.

[blogslut]

10. Well, I wouldn't want to date him

He sounds like an asshole.

That being said, Mr. Assange deserves his day in court and the chance to confront/challenge his accusers.

As for the future of Wikileaks, I'm liking the model proposed by Openleaks more and more. They're right, all that sensitive information should never be the responsibility of just one person. I'm not sure that they should only submit leaked info to press entities instead of publishing it themselves, though. I would rather they do both with a buttload of analysis before any member of the general public sees it.

[underpants]

11. Warning on language

the phrase "star f*cker" from what I have read applies here.

[Forkboy]

12. Talk about a backhanded compliment.

:rofl:

[Kalyke]

13. He's not married - so I don't give a flip.

:shrug:

[rustydog]

15. WHAT???? You mean he's a "family values" Christian Republican?

Damn....

[jwirr]

16. Agreed. This is not about his sex life.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

18. the number of people i know who sleep around: eleventy million

the number who operate websites that expose lies that lead to wars: 1

[Metta]

21. General Motors tried this stuff with Ralph Nader over the Corvair.

Of interest to some, from Wikipedia.

"Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile by Ralph Nader, published in 1965 is often characterized as the book about the Corvair, though only one of the book's eight chapters covers the Corvair. It details how the motor industry evaded even well-founded and technically-informed criticism and resisted the introduction of safety features, like seat belts, and their general reluctance to spend money on improving safety. It was a pioneering work of attack journalism, openly polemical but containing substantial references and material from industry insiders. It made Nader a household name."

[wtmusic]

36. I had forgotten about GM hiring the prostitute. Many parallels here.

"For years it was Ralph Nader against General Motors, who went so far as to hire private detectives to discredit him. They sent a prostitute to try to seduce him at a food counter at Safeway's but he turned her away. So the gumshoes tried to prove he was homosexual but were caught as they tried to follow him into Congress. The scandal made Mr Nader into a hero overnight. The car makers were forced to introduce seat belts, and ultimately air bags."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/oct/22/uselections2004.usa

[bemildred]

22. Yeah, he'd fit right in in any legislature in the country.

Or the White House, though to be fair Obama seems to be monogamous.
But yeah, who gives a shit?

[Alamuti Lotus]

32. at least one of the girls SOUGHT HIM OUT, apparently

I admittedly don't follow much of the Sweden story, because I believe it to be basically contrived nonsense, but that stuck out to me as a point point.

[ProudDad]

33. As was, apparently, MLK

And JFK...

But probably not Gandhi (which is one of the things I didn't like about him... :) )

I echo, "So What?"

[Rex]

37. It proves he is on to something or has something big enough

to have these kind of charges raised against him by the CIA. Believe me, I'm sure they would have loved to have shot him and dumped his body already. The SpyvsSpy bots are nervous about something.